ack."

The boys walked into a lovely summer night, with a newly risen moon,
near fullness, floating just above the horizon. By unspoken agreement,
they put the top down on Steve's convertible. Rick was just snapping it
in place when he sensed someone standing next to him. He turned, to face
the big man of the trio.

The man got to the point without preliminaries. "You were asking the
waiter about Mr. Merlin."

"We thought he looked familiar, but we couldn't place him," Rick
replied. "We meant no discourtesy."

"I'm sure you didn't," the man said smoothly. He didn't smile, even
though his voice was pleasant enough. "Mr. Merlin is a very prominent
man. He comes down here to get away from people. Naturally, he doesn't
welcome inquiries. I'm sure you understand."

"We have no intention of intruding," Rick stated coolly. "As I said, he
looked familiar. We merely asked out of curiosity."

"You're not local boys." It was a statement.

"No. We're visitors."

"The local people have learned not to ask questions about Mr. Merlin. I
suggest you follow their example." The man turned and walked back into
the restaurant.

The boys stared after him, openmouthed.

"If that poor soul only knew," Scotty said, "he picked the best possible
way to arouse our curiosity."

"I haven't been warned so politely in a long time," Rick agreed. "Come
on, son. Let's head for Martins Creek." He slid behind the wheel while
Scotty got into the passenger side.

Rick started the car and listened to it purr for a moment. "I noticed
that Steve has quite a few books about the Eastern Shore on his
bookshelves," he said casually.

"So did I. Including one called _Tidewater Maryland_. Lots of pictures
of the old estates in that one."

"Be interesting if there was a picture of Calvert's Favor, wouldn't it?"

"Interesting and maybe informative. Well, are we going to sit here all
night?"

"Nope. We're going to Steve's. Looks as if we have a small research
project."

"To be followed by a second project," Scotty added. "First we read up on
Calvert's Favor, and then we find it and look it over."

Rick grinned. "Nobody warns Scotty with impunity."

"But nobody!" Scotty said cheerfully.

CHAPTER VI

The Saucer Sighters

"We shoot a line straight north," Rick explained, "for a distance of
about twenty miles. Then we start asking questions. If we get
affirmative answers, we head north again for another ten miles and
repeat the process